Welcome to the 27th week (and final edition!) of our NL Central Power Rankings! We’ll release these rankings each week to grade all five teams and place them one through five. As everyone knows with power rankings, these should be taken as gospel and they’re obviously 100% accurate. Without further ado, let’s rank some teams!
1. Milwaukee Brewers (96-64); 2-4 this week; 100.0% chance to make postseason (Baseball Reference)
The Crew dropped two of three to both the Cardinals and the Padres on the road this week before losing the first of their final three games with the Reds on Friday night.
Danny Jansen hit the only Brewer homer this week in what was a quiet week overall for the Milwaukee offense. Joey Ortiz and Brice Turang tied for the team lead with six hits apiece, while Jackson Chourio’s two steals gave him his second consecutive 20-20 season at just 21 years old.
On the pitching side, Chad Patrick made a pair of solid starts filling in a gap in the rotation, allowing two runs over 7 1/3 innings (2.45 ERA) with a team-high nine strikeouts. Aaron Ashby was solid in relief, with four scoreless frames over three outings. Abner Uribe and Jared Koenig also added scoreless outings from the bullpen, while Tobias Myers was solid in five innings of relief, allowing just one run.
With just two games left, the Brewers are still looking to lock up the No. 1 seed in all of baseball — they just need a Phillies loss to the Twins or a win over the Reds.
2. Chicago Cubs (90-70); 2-4 this week; 100.0% chance to make postseason
The Cubs were swept across four games against the Reds last weekend before dropping two of three against the Mets this week. They bounced back to blow out the Cardinals on Friday night in their final series of the year.
Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki each totaled three homers this week for the Cubs, while five others added a homer each. That includes Nico Hoerner, who led the team with eight hits this week, scoring seven runs and adding a steal. Dansby Swanson also homered and swiped a pair of bags, while Ian Happ and Matt Shaw each added six hits.
Colin Rea worked 5 2/3 scoreless frames with seven strikeouts to lead the way for the Cubs’ pitching staff this week. Jameson Taillon added a solid seven innings with one run allowed, while Brad Keller, Daniel Palencia, and Jordan Wicks all worked scoreless weeks from the bullpen.
The Cubs aren’t playing for anything besides home-field advantage for the NL Wild Card Series at this point, as they already know they’ll be playing the Padres. After Friday night’s win over the Cards, the Cubs would need to lose both of their last two games and the Padres would need to win both of their games for the series to be played in San Diego; any other result would pit the two teams against each other at Wrigley.
3. Cincinnati Reds (82-78); 4-2 this week; 59.8% chance to make postseason
The Reds swept the Cubs over four games last weekend before dropping two of three at home against the Pirates this week. They then took Friday night’s series opener in Milwaukee by a 3-1 final.
Tyler Stephenson slugged a pair of homers and a double as part of his six hits this week for Cincy, while Elly De La Cruz added seven hits and TJ Friedl led the team with eight hits. De La Cruz and Noelvi Marte each swiped a pair of bags, while Miguel Andujar and Gavin Lux added six hits each.
Nick Lodolo worked a scoreless 6 1/3 innings with a team-high 12 strikeouts this week, while Zack Littell made a pair of solid starts with three runs allowed over 9 2/3 innings (2.79 ERA) with seven strikeouts. Andrew Abbott also worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his start, while Connor Phillips, Graham Ashcraft, Emilio Pagán, and Scott Barlow allowed no runs from the bullpen.
The Reds are the only team in the division really playing for something major at this point, as they enter the final two games of the year tied with the Mets for the last playoff spot. They hold the tiebreaker over New York, so they hold their own fate as they take on the Crew this weekend (and the Mets battle the Marlins).
4. St. Louis Cardinals (78-82); 3-3 this week; 0.0% chance to make postseason
The Cardinals are fighting to finish the year close to .500, as they took two of three from both the Brewers and the Mets this week. The Cubs ruined any hopes of an exactly .500 season with a big win on Friday night.
Iván Herrera slugged three homers this week, also tying Alec Burleson for the team lead with eight hits. Herrera drove in a team-high eight and scored seven runs in what was a great week overall. Brendan Donovan picked up six hits this week, including five doubles.
Matthew Liberatore went five innings with one run allowed and six strikeouts this week, while Sonny Gray allowed three runs (two earned) over six frames with a team-high seven strikeouts. Kyle Leahy worked four scoreless innings across three relief appearances, and Ryan Fernandez, Matt Svanson, and John King added scoreless weeks.
The Cardinals will look to win their last two games against the Cubs this weekend to finish 80-82 on the season, as they’ll once again be on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (70-90); 5-1 this week; 0.0% chance to make postseason
The Pirates had a solid week as they’re looking to finish the year on a high note. They took two of three from both the A’s and Reds before winning Friday night’s series opener in Atlanta.
Spencer Horwitz slugged a pair of homers as part of a team-high eight hits to lead the Bucs this week, slashing .444/.565/.944 with three doubles and five walks. Nick Yorke knocked seven hits, including a homer and a double, while Jared Triolo and Bryan Reynolds each added six hits, including a homer apiece.
It was a great week for the starting rotation, as Braxton Ashcraft, Paul Skenes, Bubba Chandler, and Mike Burrows each had solid outings. Skenes finished off a sub-2.00 ERA season with six shutout frames and seven strikeouts as he’s sure to win NL Cy Young, while Chandler worked five scoreless with six punchouts. In relief, Kyle Nicolas, Justin Lawrence, Yohan Ramírez, Carmen Mlodzinski, and Hunter Barco each had scoreless weeks.
Pittsburgh wraps up the season in Atlanta this weekend, as they have two more games against the Braves.
